On the Block: The Yellowstone Club’s 160-Acre Family Compound

Nestled in the heart of the world’s only private ski and golf community, the 160-acre Family Compound is without question the most unique offering ever presented in the history of the Yellowstone Club. The story of the property dates to the founding of the club itself when Tim and Edra Blixseth retained ownership of a 160-acre site inside its boundaries. The couple built two 2,240-square-foot, 3-bedroom residences that were to serve as guest homes for a main residence that was never constructed.

Situated at the end of a long, secluded driveway, each of the cabins features an open floor plan, vaulted ceilings, massive wood-burning fireplaces, and large floor-to-ceiling windows. Beautifully appointed bathrooms and well-designed kitchens round out the interiors, while an expansive outdoor living area creates an ideal setting for nights out beneath the Montana sky. Yellow Mule Creek runs year round through the property’s western boundary.

It is this acreage and improvements that are to be auctioned by Edra Blixseth’s bankruptcy estate pursuant to a court-approved bidding and auction process. CrossHarbor Capital Partners has tendered a stalking horse bid of $10,850,000, consisting of $850,000 in cash and $10 million in a credit bid against CrossHarbor’s lien on the Family Compound. Per the court’s order, the minimum required for qualified competing bids by third parties is $11.1 million. Deadline for submission of the $11.1 million is 4:30 p.m. Mountain Time on May 16. The receipt of qualified competing bid(s) will result in an open outcry auction to be held at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Time on May 20, 2011 at the offices of Datsopolous, MacDonald and Lind in Missoula, Montana.

Membership to The Yellowstone Club is not included as part of this offering. The buyer may apply to The Yellowstone Club for membership, however, membership is not guaranteed. Independent investigation is advised. Additional information about the auction and the rules governing competing bids will be made available upon request.

To obtain a due diligence package and schedule a private viewing of the Family Compound at Yellowstone Club, please contact:

Bill McDavid
Hall and Hall
406-542-3762
mcdavid@hallandhall.com

Sold! Montana’s Yellowstone Club Goes for $115 Million

CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC paid $115 million to buy Montana’s Yellowstone Club out of bankruptcy court yesterday. The Boston-based private-equity firm agreed to pay $35 million in cash and assume $80 million in debt owed to Credit Suisse. CrossHarbor will also infuse up to $75 million in working capital.

CrossHarbor’s principal, Sam Byrne, is a Yellowstone Club member, and has been closely following its fortunes. In 2008, CrossHarbor attempted to acquire the club for $450 million.

According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the sale capped a week of non-stop negotations in the court of federal bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher. The only other bidder was Credit Suisse, which in 2005 loaned $375 million to Tim and Edra Blixseth, the now divorced couple who jointly founded the club.

As part of the final deal, Credit Suisse will be allowed to co-invest in the club with CrossHarbor. Credit Suisse also received additional assets, including Yellowstone Club real estate and a castle in France that the Blixseths had acquired. Unsecured creditors were recognized by the court as $19 million was set aside to pay local vendors, tradesmen, and others.

This marks the second major bankruptcy ruling in as many months involving Credit Suisse. In April the Promontory Club outside of Park City, Utah, sold to the Pivotal Group for $30 million. Credit Suisse had put together a $350 million loan package for Pivotal, which it used to develop the resort community before seeking bankruptcy protection.

According to the CrossHarbor website, the LLC “is an active investor in the distressed securities market. We invest in a wide variety of securities including real estate loans, corporate loans, and structured securities that are suffering from stress including monetary and/or technical defaults.”

Read more at:
“Cross Harbor Wins Yellowstone Auction,” Bozeman Daily Chronicle, May 18, 2009.

More Coverage on the Yellowstone Club Bankruptcy Case

It wasn’t two years ago that every media outlet known to man was clamoring over one another to give more column inches to the biggest, gawdiest monstrosity in the West: the Yellowstone Club’s record-breaking $155-million home. Though we’ve banged the drum on many an occasion, I’m pleased to say The Land Report did not jump on that bandwagon. But we readily admit to watching the feeding frenzy as those same news channels cover the demise of the elite enclave, including these two incisive reports. Read more

Yellowstone Club Files for Bankruptcy

The world’s only private ski and golf community has sought bankruptcy protection. The Yellowstone Club, an exclusive 13,400-acre retreat in Montana’s Gallatin Mountains whose members include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and former vice president Dan Quayle, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal bankruptcy court yesterday. Read more